Application
Hollyhock is an old remedy in folk medicine. The sap of the plant was used for toothache and to heal inflamed wounds.
An aqueous extract of althea root tastes sweet and slightly mucilaginous. It can still be used as a soothing cough syrup, especially for children. The root has also been used as a teething ring for young children with teething pain.
Other traditional uses are against catarrh and inflammatory conditions of the chest, stomach and intestinal catarrh, against too much stomach acid, increased bile secretion and frequent urination.
The juice from marshmallow root is used to make marshmallow candy.
Ingredients
The plant's roots contain 10-15% mucus. The root also contains various sugars and approximately 2% of the substance asparagine.
Althaea officinalis L
Photo of page in Joachim Burser's herbarium.
